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September 17, 2012

College Football Week 3 Recap

The College Football season rolls on, and week 3 just wrapped up last weekend. We saw #1 USC fall to #21 Stanford, in the second huge upset this season (UL Monroe beating Arkansas was the first). USC will fall in the rankings, but they still can take the PAC 12 crown. The loss was early in the season, and their title hopes are still strong.

Stanford after their upset of #1 USC

#2 Alabama shut out Arkansas by a score of 52-0. Arkansas QB Tyler Wilson did miss the game, but that is not an excuse to loose by 52 at home. If Arkansas was truly worthy of a #9 preseason ranking, they should be able to compete with Alabama, even with Wilson out. A top 10 team doesn't loose like that at home when only the starting QB is out. Right now, it looks like Arkansas is far from taking down Alabama and LSU in the SEC West.

#3 Florida State made a statement with a 52-0 beat down over Wake Forest, Utah was able to rebound and beat BYU, and Florida proved they are more powerful than Tennessee in the SEC East. It remains to be seen if they are as good as #8 Georgia and #7 South Carolina, and can reclaim the top of the SEC East. #20 Notre Dame visited #9 Michigan State, and embarrassed Sparty in East Lansing. Michigan State was shut down on offense, and there has been a big drop off at QB from Kirk Cousins to Andrew Maxwell. When Le'Veon Bell is unable to run the ball like he was vs Notre Dame, Maxwell is not a reliable option to take the reigns and lead the offense. Having poor WR play doesn't help much either though. A very surprising upset was Pittsburgh beating #10 Virginia Tech. Pitt was 0-2, with a bad loss to FCS Youngstown State during week 1, 31-17. During week 2, they lost to Cincinnati 34-10 on Thursday night. Most people had given up on Pitt, but with this upset over VT, the Panthers appear to be back.Top 25:1. Alabama 3-02. Florida State 3-03. LSU 3-04. Oklahoma 2-05. Oregon 3-06. South Carolina 3-07. Georgia 3-08. Texas 2-09. Clemson 3-010. West Virginia 2-011. USC 2-1 12. Stanford 3-013. Notre Dame 3-014. Ohio State 3-015. TCU 2-016. Michigan 2-117. Louisville 3-018. Michigan State 2-119. Kansas State 3-020. N.C. State 2-121. Northwestern 3-022. Florida 3-023. Mississippi State 3-024. UCLA 3-025. Boise State 1-1Next 5 In: Virginia Tech 2-1, Nebraska 2-1, Utah 2-1, Arizona 3-0, Cincinnati 2-0What To Watch:

BYU (2-1) @ #25 Boise State (1-1)9:00pm ET, ESPNThis will be Boise State's chance to redeem itself after the loss to Michigan State. If they cannot win this game, the Broncos will only prove they are not the same power they were in the past.Prediction: BYU 28 Boise 16Missouri (2-1) @ #6 South Carolina (3-0)3:30pm ET, CBSMissouri has another chance to show it can hang with the SEC heavy weights. South Carolina can show they deserve a top 10 ranking with a win.Prediction: South Car 37 Mizz 20Oregon State (1-0) @ #24 UCLA (3-0)3:30pm ET, ABC/ESPN2Both are two teams from the PAC 12 that emerged with multiple week 2 upsets. Oregon State has only played one game, and UCLA has played three. The Beavers may have gotten lucky vs a Wisconsin team that is nowhere near as good as we thought, but Oregon State is still not a very good team. UCLA should roll.Prediction: UCLA 37 OSU 17#16 Michigan (2-1) @ #13 Notre Dame (3-0)7:30pm ET, NBC

This could be the last chance for Michigan to prove they are a BCS-contender. If they loose, they will be written off for the season and be counted as another very disappointing team from the Big Ten this year. Notre Dame has a chance to prove they are back as one of the top teams in the country.Prediction: ND 28 Mich 20#19 Kansas State (3-0) @ #3 Oklahoma (2-0)7:50pm ET, FOXBoth teams have a lot to prove in this game. The Sooners had a shaky game week 1 vs UTEP. They rolled over Florida A& M in week 2, so we have yet to see this team tested. Kansas State can prove they are a BCS contender and not stuck behind Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas for the Big 12 crown. I could see the upset here, but Oklahoma should get the win.Prediction: OU 36 KSU 30#9 Clemson (3-0) @ #2 Florida State (3-0)8:00pm ET, ABCThe first test for FSU. They will have to show they are a title contender with a win over Clemson. Clemson is out to show they are the kings of the ACC. If Florida State can win this, the Seminoles are back to national prominence. This should be close and already has the feels of a classic.Prediction: FSU 28 Clem 25